This Friday, for Fine Art Photography Friday, it is time to go to church. And not just any church, but the Third Baptist Church of San Francisco. Now you may be wondering how a San Antonio wedding photographer ends up in a baptist church in San Francisco. Good question. You know if you have been reading my other blog posts that I like to travel a great deal and take documentary photographs. Many of my documentary photography projects are long term and take me all over the world. But for this image, in the Third Baptist Church in San Francisco, I was actually living in the city at the time. I went to graduate school at The Academy of Art University in San Francisco, where I received my Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Photography. After I graduated I went on to teach at The Academy of Art for 2 1/2 years. So I have many images from San Francisco. It is a great city, one of the best cities in the world. There is so much to see and do and so much to photograph. I love all of the different cultures and flavors of the city.

While I was in graduate school, one of my friends, Lee, belonged to this church. I told her how I was very interested in photographing all things related to religion and how people weave religion into their life. I was drawn to a pastiest church because of the music and the intensity of the services. I was also drawn to the fact that the women in the congregation wear there great hats on Sundays. It was an amazing experience to be in such an old and respected church to to see all of the wonderful people of the congregation joined in prayer and song. I just so happened to be there on the day that Jess Jackson was visiting as part of his Rainbow Push Coalition. This was an extra added bonus because my friend Lee did not tell me that Rev. Jackson was going to be there. So I also had the opportunity to meet and to photograph him.

The image of the church members represents a very pure form of documentary photography. The image is so yellow because the sun light was streaming through the old stained glass windows. At first I was not happy with the oddly colored light, but then I realized that it really gave the image that fine art touch the I like to mix into my documentary work. This is part of my fine art documentary photography look and what I apply for my weddings. I have talked about being a fine art wedding photographer in previous posts. You can read more about this here.

Many people ask me about photojournalism wedding photography and how it is different from regular wedding photography. Being a San Antonio wedding photographer, and working in a photojournalistic style, I am often a good person to explain this current wedding photography style to people. Photojournalism is a style of photography that focuses on recording events as they happen in a very hands off manner. A true photojournalist abides by a code of ethics that encourages them to produce real images of real situations without interference. Photographers like to think of this as a hands-off approach. You are not supposed to move people around, or pose them, or set up the image. You can use artificial lighting, like a camera flash unit, but this is usually employed very minimally and only when it is absolutely necessary.

A good contrast to this would be traditional wedding photography which was more posed. This occurred because back in the film days a photographer could not take the risk of taking so many uncontrolled images. Clients demanded, and still do, images of guests, posed formal images, staged event images, and then a mixing in of the truly candid, hand-off, event images. I have a few theories why this more documentary and editorial magazine style has become popular. Digital technology has made it easier for people to enter the field of photography and the internet and other mass media are showing many commercial and magazine/editorial style photographs. Another big reason why the photojournalism style has invaded the wedding world is because photojournalists have invaded the wedding world. Digital technology has caused many newspapers and media organizations to stop producing print versions and go to online. There have been many photojournalists who have been laid off over the past 10 years as the internet and digital technology has grown. You can read one story here. Many of them found photography work in the wedding field.

About 10 years ago the style of wedding photography began to change into a less staged one and into a more photojournalistic, or documentary style. There are a few photographers out there that are using a 100% documentary photography style, but this is very difficult to pull off at a wedding, because clients still want some posed images, especially the formal portraits of the bridal party and family. There are even photojournalism wedding photography organizations like the Wedding Photojournalist Association (WPJA.) They have very strict rules for the members and they have to be primarily photographing in a photojournalistic style.

I describe my wedding photography style as fine art documentary wedding photography. Like most current wedding photographers there is a large amount of documentary, hands-off type of photographing that I perform at a wedding. I have long loved documentary photography so this is a natural fit for me. I then mix in some loosely posed formal images and maybe some portraits of the bride and groom if they request that. Even when I am posing people I am very loose about it because I really want a natural look to my images. I may tell some people to stand somewhere and to face a certain direction, but then I wait for them to relax into their most natural poses. For me this has been the most effective way to photograph a wedding.

I have been a fine art photographer for about 15 years now and my work has appeared in over 100 group and individual shows all over the world. I love fine art photography and I love documentary photography so that is why I combined the two in my unique fine art documentary wedding photography style. You can see examples of my wedding photographs here and my portrait photographs here. You can even see some of my fine art photographs here.

The image above is from a documentary project that I did in Chiapas, Mexico. I had gone down to San Cristoboal De Las Casas to take a documentary photography workshop with Craig “Cisco” Dietz at Aper Tours. We had a great week together. Prior to the one-on-one workshop I contacted him to find out if he could arrange a live-in documentary photography opportunity for me with a family who lived a very simple lifestyle. That is how I ended up staying with the family in the picture above at their house in the middle of the Chiapas jungle. Although it is challenging to find, I really like to stay with my subjects and create an extended documentary. There is a special bond that you develop with your subjects when you can actually live with them.

They had no electricity or running water. The image above shows the mother of the family making fresh tortillas on the lid of a 55 gallon drum over an open fire that she built on the kitchen floor. While I was there she made tortillas, fresh, three times a day for meals. They were great, but after about 3 days I was really getting tired of those tortillas. During my week and a half stay with th family I documented their beautiful lifestyle. They showed me how they sheared their sheep by hand, then dyed and spun the wool into threads. These threads were then used by the women on hand looms to create distinctive skirts. Each sect in the area has a particular pattern for their skirts. Some are plain and others are very fancy. Their weaving skills are amazing. The entire experience was amazing for me. I even had the opportunity to go into a Temazcal, an authentic sweat lodge

The image about is titled “Xun’s Family.” It has won more awards than any other image of mine. I recently won “Best of Show” in the “Freedom of Art” exhibition at the High Wire Arts Gallery in San Antonio, TX. I was a bit surprised because it was an open art exhibition. This is where all types of art are displayed. Usually, photography does not win over more traditional media like painting and drawing. Maybe the fact that the piece is a silver gelatin print made in an old school chemical darkroom had something to do with it.

Enjoy the image because another Fine Art Photography Friday is just a week away. I am off to photograph a wedding in Houston tomorrow and a portrait session on Sunday.

Being a San Antonio wedding photographer I have the honor to photograph many weddings, bridal portraits, and engagement portrait sessions. One of the key photographs for any wedding or bridal portrait is the bridal bouquet. Brides take much time, effort, and energy in picking out the perfect bouquet that will complement their wedding. Colors and flower types are key but they can also depend on the time of the year and the availability of those particular flowers.

The history of the bridal bouquet is an interesting one. Brides have been carrying a bouquet since ancient times, but it did not start out as flowers. Many time brides and grooms carried aromatic herbs, spices, or garlic to help to ward off evil spirits. As far back as ancient Greece and Rome the brides would wear a garland that was meant to symbolize new life, hope, and fertility for the couple. At this time the garlands were not yet made of flowers but instead they were comprised of herbs and spices or local vegetation. The stronger the smell the better it was believed that the garland would ward off of evil spirits. As is true with many other wedding traditions, the modern tradition of having flowers at a wedding and carrying a flower bouquet came from Queen Victoria’s marriage to Prince Albert on February 10, 1840. The bouquet of flowers was carried by the bride and this bouquet included edible flowers like marigolds and dill weed which was eaten by the bride, the groom, and the wedding attendees during the reception. The consuming of dill was thought to increase sexual desire. I could see why you would want the bride and groom to consume this but I am not sure that I would want the wedding guests consuming this too.

It was also during Victorian times that flowers took on meanings and were seen as secret messages between lovers. This is know as florigraphy, or the language of flowers. At the time many beautiful flowers were given underserved meanings. Today, brides choose their flowers based more on color and a fondness for the look and smell of the flowers, rather than their assigned meanings.

This is just one of the many fascinating wedding traditions. I am really interested in these rituals and their origins, so look for future posts on that subject. You can read about other wedding traditions in my post “Wedding Ceremony Photography” and “Wedding Cake Photography.”

I recently photographed Kasi and Griffin’s wedding in the beautiful hill country of Texas. As a San Antonio wedding photographer I have the chance to not only photograph weddings, bridal portraits, and engagement portraits in San Antonio, but also all over Texas and the rest of the country, include the Austin Hill Country area. I really like to work at the various venues in the Hill Country because they have that beautiful pastural look to them. Kasi and Griffin were married and had their wedding reception at the Stonehhouse Villa in Driftwood, Texas, about 25 miles Southwest of Austin. At this wedding I was actually a second photographer and I had the chance to work with my friend Stephanie Brown, a great wedding photographer in Dallas. I do not often have the chance to be a second photographer at a wedding, but when I do I really enjoy it because I can indulge my fine art wedding photographer style more.

Kasi and Griffin are a great couple to work with. They were so laid back and genuine and that is always nice to see in a bride and groom. I had not met them prior to the wedding so it was a pleasant surprise when I showed up and they were warm and accommodating. I think that they chose the perfect venue for their wedding. They were just as tranquil as the rolling hills of the country side. People may be wondering what is the difference between being the primary photographer or the secondary photographer at a wedding. It really depends on the two photographers and how they have set things up. With my own business, Red Photo, I am the primary photographer all of the time. This means that I will stay with the bride most of day, especially while she is getting ready. The second photographer is normally assigned to photograph the groom and his groomsmen as they are getting ready. So at this wedding I was hanging out with the guys. On the rare occasion that I work a wedding by myself I have to photograph both the bride and the groom getting ready. This is hard because they are usually separated and I end up running back and forth between the two.

I always offers a second photographer to all of my wedding clients and I strongly recommend that they let me use one. Unlike other wedding photographers out there I always use a very highly skilled second photographer and someone who has a style that matches mine well. I produce high quality wedding albums for most of my clients so it is important to me that the images from both photographers match well.

As a busy wedding photographer in San Antonio I often encourage my clients to hire a wedding planner. Many people look at this as an additional expense. When wedding are already an expensive endeavor many wedding clients are looking to save money and one of the ways that they see to do this is to not use a wedding planner. But as I tell clients all of the time, the money that you spend on a wedding planner will be money well spent. Here are my 5 reasons why every wedding client should hire a professional wedding planner.

1. Wedding planners will save you frustration and anxiety

You already have enough to worry about on your wedding day and leading up to it. There are guests to attend to and dress fittings and other appointments. The day of the wedding things are going to be a blur. I have photographed many brides as they prepare for their wedding and I am always surprised by how they say that the day just whizzed by and they don’t remember much about it. That is where great wedding photography comes in. I like to tell my client that my job is to record all of the wedding day in my very non-invasive fine art photojournalistic way. Hire someone else to run the wedding day for you.

2. Wedding planners can save you money

It can be a daunting task to pick out all of the vendors that will make your special day, well special. Wedding planners work regularly with all of the vendors in the wedding business and numerous venues. They know who is good and trustworthy. These are two qualities that you want in all of your wedding day vendors. So the planner can save you the time of running around and contacting all of these vendors by recommending reliable people. And this includes great wedding photographers. I have great relations with many wedding vendors whose trust I have earned and together we work to provide everything that a bride could need.

3. They are experienced

Is this your first wedding? For many brides it is and therefore you are not going to know when everything is going to happen and where you should be at what time. A good wedding planner will tell you when and how to cut the cake, or toss the bouquet, or any of the other mandatory wedding rituals. So often when a wedding client has not hired a planner they come and ask me. I am the wedding photographer, not the planner. I am willing to help out where I can but I am pretty busy during a wedding taking great photographs.

4. You have enough to do already

Face it, you are going to have a really full plate up to and including the wedding day. Do you really want to plan the party, throw the party, and coordinate the party? You really want to enjoy your wedding day so let someone else drive and take some of that multi-tasking off of your hands.

5. They will keep you on budget

Wedding planners will set a budget for you and then keep it. Money can be a very daunting aspect of a wedding, unless you are an accountant. You have to keep track of all of the bills and who has to be paid by what date. A wedding planner is a financial advisor and an account for your wedding. They know the costs of many goods and can really help you to set a budget that will fulfill you wedding dreams.

Now just make the right decision and go ahead and hire a wedding planner. Everyone at the wedding will appreciate and you will have more quality time to spend with you guests on your special day.

For more wedding photography advice you should see my post on 5 Wedding Photography Portrait Tips here.

As a San Antonio wedding photographer I am asked very often about portrait photography posing tips. Photographing a wedding encompasses many types of images including both portraits, action photographs, event photographs, details, and others. Within portrait photography you have the formal portraits and candid portraits. There are also what I like to call casual formals, or unposed posed images. In both of these situations there is much less of a hands on approach. This is in keeping with my photojournalistic wedding photography approach. I will be talking more about these in an upcoming post. When I am taking formal portraits, bridal portraits, engagement portraits, or any other type of set up, controlled portrait photographs, I like to give my subjects these posing tips to help to get the best portrait photographs possible.

San Antonio Wedding Photographer Red Photo

1. Face about 45 degrees to the camera.

People will look better in most situations when they are facing anywhere from 45 degrees to 90 degrees to the camera. The camera flattens out a three dimensional world, so when you face straight on to the camera it is going to make everyone look heavier. Turning away from the camera will be more flattering.

San Antonio Wedding Photographers Red Photo

2. Weight on your back foot.

Now that you are not facing straight on to the camera you should shift you weight slightly to your back leg. This will give a more pleasing hip angle to both men and women. I find that men can get away with facing straight on to the camera, but women will also look better and accentuate their curves more when they are angled to the camera with their weight on their back leg.

San Antonio Wedding Photographers Red Photo

3. Keep your arms bent and away from your body.

You should always bend your arms and legs to give them a more relaxed look. Even if your arm is extended it should be bent slightly. You do not want to be putting your weight on an arm when you are leaning on something or using it for support. Keeping your arms away from your body will again create a better line and be more flattering.

Fine Art Wedding Photographer San Antonio

4. Tilt you head slightly.

It does not matter what direction, but you should tilt you head slightly to one side or the other. Just make it slight and towards one shoulder or the other. This will break up the horizontal eye line and give a more interesting and attractive look

Photojournalism Wedding Photographer San Antonio

5. Relax and be yourself.

Remember that this portrait photography session is supposed to be fun. Keeping a fun attitude will show through in your portrait images with genuine smiles and a better connection to the viewer. If you utilize the about basic posing tips you will not have to worry about looking your best. Then you can relax and enjoy the process. There are so many things going on during your wedding day, so keeping these little portrait photography posing tips in mind will make your images really shine. These tips can even be utilized by people when your are in a more photojournalistic wedding photography mode. You can find more posing tips in the article, “7 Posing Technique for Non-Models.”

One of the most important parts of any wedding is the wedding ceremony. As a San Antonio wedding photographer, Red Photo has photographed many weddings, bridal portraits, and engagement portrait sessions, but there is something special about photographing a wedding ceremony. The big elaborate wedding ceremonies that we see today did not always exist. Maybe they existed amongst the aristocracy, but for the most part the average person could not afford this luxury. In many societies the wedding was a communal events which began with special quilting circles that grew into more structured events. Gift giving began with society families. They were so enamored with it that they began the traditions of photographing gift tables and the public opening of the gifts for some to be praised and others to be humiliated. The large wedding and many of its components as we know it today grew as the middle class and consumerism grew. Advertising and magazine photography help to create the modern wedding style. Wedding photography began more simply in the 1840’s as just a wedding portrait of the bride and groom and maybe one of them with their families. You can read more about the 5000 year old history of wedding here.

Being a San Antonio wedding photographer, I am usually photographing somewhere around Texas. When I am photographing a wedding I always work to get the reactions and emotions of the day. I want a photograph of the bride and her father as they enter the ceremony and walk down the aisle. I always photograph the groom’s reaction when the bride first appears at the door of the ceremony venue. As a wedding photographer I have the chance to get up close and to see the real emotions of the bride and groom on their special day. Their emotion is true emotion and this makes for memorable photographs that the bride and the groom will have forever. Of course you cannot neglect the importance of the first kiss photograph. This ritual comes from ancient times when the bride and the groom would have to consummate the wedding. The modern day remnant of that ancient consummation process is the first kiss.

I continue to be fascinated by the history and rituals of weddings. I will be exploring more on these areas in future posts.

Being a wedding photographer in San Antonio I have the opportunity to photograph many weddings, bridal portrait sessions, and engagement portrait sessions. All of these weddings are unique experiences for me. I photograph in a fine art photojournalistic style with very few posed images. I really enjoy the challenging of capturing great emotional moments to preserve them for my clients. Many times at a wedding, since I am the primary photographer, I will spend most of time with the bride as she is preparing for the day. This is a strategy employed by many photographers and I think that is why you see so many great bride preparation photographs and brides in their wedding dress photographers. I always like to make sure that I also take portraits of the groom. When I am working with a second photographer, and that is usually the case, they are mostly responsible for hanging out with the groom and taking images of him and the groomsmen. But even when I am working with a second photographer I will take some time out to work with and photograph the groom.

I always take a groom portrait. Looking back over my wedding photography for the past years I realized that very often my groom portraits were taken in a strictly unposed, documentary style. I really like the purity of these images. I have also found that even though I am one of the premiere San Antonio wedding photographers, grooms, and guys in general, usually do not like to have their photographs taken. To help put them at ease, and to make the process quick and easy, I have gone to using a pure photojournalistic wedding photography style for the groom’s portraits. I often will convert these images to black and white to enhance that journalistic, documentary look. There are a few occasions where I will photograph grooms in more of an editorial photography style, where I move them and pose them a little, but even then I like to give them a few moments to just go back to being themselves.

I have gathered this collection of groom portraits to honor the often forgotten guys at the wedding. The documentary photographer in me seems draw to the challenge of photographing a scene without interfering and getting the photograph quickly and in a non-invasive way.

Being a San Antonio wedding photographer I have the opportunity to photograph weddings, engagement portrait sessions, and bridal portraits session all over Texas and other locations. For Rebecca’s bridal portrait session I was in Houston at the beautiful Rice University. Rebecca’s family live in San Antonio but she and her finance, Matt, live and work in Houston, TX. I photographed their engagement session in September in Houston at Buffalo Bayou Park. I always like to have an engagement session with all of my wedding clients as it gives us time to get to know one another. Many couples have never had a professional portrait session so it gives them a chance to get used to being photographed by a professional photographer. It is also a time for me to get to know my wedding clients. I like it when I arrive at a wedding and I already know the couple. That is why I always recommend an engagement portrait session to all of my wedding clients.

Most bridal portrait sessions are taken inside, but Rebecca’s want to take her photographs outside within the beautiful arches of Rice University. The arches at Rice are a well known location in Houston for all types of portraits, not just bridal portraits, but also engagement portraits, wedding portraits, and even pet portraits. In fact I have a colleague, Kim Hartz, who specializes in pet photography and her studio is located right near Rice University. Our session was great and Rebecca was great to work with. We were able to capture many stunning images of her in her gorgeous wedding dress. I always like to capture both classical and fine art portrait images at my bridal sessions. Photographing in an environment like Rice University really give me the opportunity to photograph more fine art wedding images. My style of photography is mostly a photojournalism wedding style, but I find that when I photograph bridal portraits I tend to gravitate more to the posed, classical type of bridal portrait images.

Rebecca and Matt will be having their wedding reception in June at The Gallery in Houston, TX. I really love working at The Gallery. It is a wonderful, romantic space, and the staff is great to work with.